I’m really easy to charm with your blog.

I follow blogs pretty easily* if I’m honest. But, I think that I also unfollow blogs due to many reasons. Also, if you do carry on reading this, WHICH I HOPE YOU DO, please remember that I am not calling any bloggers out, and I’m just statingmy opinion.

I recently did a post where I mentioned some tips that I would give to new bloggers, so I thought that I would carry on the theme of “general blogging” rather than “book blogging” just to mix things up a bit.

*literally. . . I’m almost TOO click-happy.

does what you post interest me?

As I am a book blogger and am interested in books, and literally do NOTHING else in my spare time apart from blogging and reading, I’d mainly be interested in following book blogs.

Makes sense???? right??

If I’m being honest, as long as what you post interests me, I’d follow. And just because it’s not something that I’m interested in, it doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing to blog about.

These are a few things that I find interesting on a blog:

Book hauls (don’t have to be a book blog!!).

Book reviews.

Blogging rants.

Book rants.

Rants in general.

Cool photos.

Cake.

does your blog remain interesting to me?

Sometimes I feel that I end up not liking blogs as much as I did before. Sometimes, it’s because I change and I am no longer able to relate to the content.

For example, I used to follow lifestyle blogs when I was a lifestyle blogger, and before I started book blogging, and now I follow maybe 3 lifestyle blogs????

OR,

I think that sometimes bloggers temporarily lose that “spark” that they once had, and I no longer feel like interacting? I no longer feel like commenting? I think that if I no longer really feel the need/want to comment on your posts over time, then that’s one of the biggest reasons that I will stop following your blog.

do you post consistently?

By this I mean, do you post often, but quality posts, not just the number of posts. Sometimes, if a blogger posts loads, sometimes I feel unable to keep up with all the poststhat they publish, and it starts to pressure me.

But, I do actually check who I follow every 4 months or so. Personally, I unfollow a blogger if they haven’t posted for several months. I’m talking about 5 months? 6 months? But it’s not just about that. If I cannot remember your content anymore, then I will most probably stop following that blogger. This sort of links in with the “does your blog interest/remain interesting me?” thing.Consistency is the main reason I will unfollow your blog (I’m talking MONTHS without posting/twitter etc and I’m half convinced you disappeared into White London with Kel and that fabulous coat or maybe Crabeswater and that’s why you can’t post. (whO KnOwS ~ mYsTerY!!)

are you posts quality?

I don’t really mind if a blogger were to post once, or twice a week, or even once every few weeks, IT’S UP TO YOU. But if I’m taking the time to read your posts, I’d like it to actually be something that I can engage with and that looks really put together, and that will make me want to keep on visiting your blog, right?

Do you post short random posts?I understand that you can post poems or talk about your feelings, or have a blog dedicated to quotes, and such. But do you post, “so hi! Today was a good day I made a cake and then I ate it and I had an argument with my sister over who had the bigger slice” and then recount your day?? If you do do this, I’d most likely 1) not really care (no offence) 2) look for another post of yours 3) see if I can find something to interact with on your blog, if I can, then I’ll give you a follow, if not, then I won’t.

Do your posts about things that make me think?Personally, I really love posts that make me think about a topic, or that make me look at something from a different perspective, For example, posts that discuss topics such as diversity in books or a similar topic are often my favourites. If you’re just posting about our cake, while I really love cake, it’s not really going to make me think that much, so I don’t really follow. Also, does it make me want to interact with YOU? Do you show your personality on your posts?

Does your blog look pretty? I wouldn’t say that this is a huge thing for me, but like almost everyone else, I like what I’m looking at on the screen to be nice to my precious eyes. (hence why I don’t read posts in the reader anymore!) Also, do you paragraph or is your post just a huge paragraph*** that I can’t follow along with? Important notes, 1) aesthetics is not everything for me, 2) don’t feel the need to get loads of fancy graphics straight away! Sometimes, the more simple it is, the never it is!

Are they well organised and contain lots of content? What I mean by this is, does your blog talk about multiple things in one post? Does it have a methodical order that makes sense? Is it well laid out? Does it have a clear message or provide insight into something? Does it express opinions about more than one thing?**

Is it how YOU want it to be?Okay, this is so contradictory*, but I think that there’s no wrong or right way to blog, and I think that what makes me want to follow a blog a lot of the time is whether or not the blogger seems confident with their content? Is the blogger enthusiastic about their posts?

You may see that I’m being HELLA contradictory, and basically using questions A LOT. This is me trying not to trample on people’s feelings / destroying them with a hammer.

But remember, not every post needs to be 14332537%!! You do not need to have a “perfect” blog. We are all human and sometimes we don’t have the time, aren’t really motivated, or just feel like doing a small post rather than spending 4746538765 hours*!

This is a WHOLEEEEEE different discussion but!! Never pressure yourself when it comes to blogging because blogging is not your job and you should NOT be pressuring yourself to blog to a certain standard that you place on yourself, or feel is being put on you from others in the blogosphere!

QUALITY CONTENT = CONTENT YOU ARE PROUD OF.

*please never spend this long on a post.

are you nice? do you interact back?

I’m not talking about a follow for follow back, (I personally don’t like them). I mean that if I comment on your post do you reply to it? Do you send more than just one reply? Do I see you commenting/ interacting with people on your posts?*Do I see you commenting on other people’s posts? Are you a positive person?

When finding a new blog, I sort of check out the person a bit?** And I kind of look for things? I mainly check out their “about” page/their comments to see if:

they are a cool person.

they have a cool sense of humour.

they are sarcastic SARCASM IS LIFE. / witty.

they like cake.

are someone that I think I can get along with.

ARE SHOUTY ON THE INTERNET TOO.

I like to see part of someone’s personality in their posts!!

*people may be legit busy tho (WE ALL KNOW THE STRUGGLES!) **SOUND LIKE A STALKER. SORRY.

is your blog the definition of “formal”?

Each to their own, but for me, because blogging is my hobby, and I like being chilled* about blogging, unlike I am with books, I like to have pretty informal posts??? I just personally like it like that?? AND THAT’S MY OPINION. You may prefer to have more formal posts, AND THAT’S OKAY!!

It’s completely up to you, but I prefer more chilled blogs BUT if I find that a blog isn’t pulling puns and witty I won’t just click off of it!! It’s just an added bonus for me.

*never am tho.

you’re inactive for a long time (it’s okay to unfollow section).

Already said this???? IDK

By this, it could be that you don’t really interact with others, not really commenting etc, or as I said earlier, you haven’t posted in 5,6,7+ months.

The first time that I checked who I was following, I saw that there were blogs I was following that hadn’t actually posted anything in over a year and a half and I couldn’t remember their posts (which sounds super bad, I’m sorry — AGAIN– trying not to trample on feelings / throw them into a firey pit here).

And when I did this, I realised how many blogs I followed and how I. COULD. NOT. keep up with all of them.

However, if you’re on a hiatus, and you’ve said that you’re gonna be back, but you don’t know when I’m still going to follow you and stick around until you return.

By doing this, I’ve actually lowered the number of blogs that I follow and I feel that I can be more active on the blogs that I’m really interested in and that I really feel like interacting with. There’s nothing wrong with unfollowing a blog.

Why it’s okay to unfollow a blog:

you have no reason to be “loyal” to a blog just because you used to follow it.

People can stop liking what they used to like and that’s okay!

Sometimes, the blog changes and you don’t enjoy it as much. That’s okay!!

Just because you followed before, doesn’t mean that you are tied to that blog FOREVER.

You can do what you want.

You don’t always have the time to read/comment on 32248536523 blog posts a week!! you are human!! It’s okay to be human.

Unless you can be a dragon. Then be a dragon.

I personally love being a dragon. You get to burn things you don’t like. LIKE ALL THOSE SHIPS THAT SAILED THAT YOU WERE SO AGAINST!!

Okay, this is so off topic, I apologise.

No one isforcing you to read that blog.

Better to not follow that be a ghost follower in my honest opinion!!

Truth be told, I only really unfollow blogs when it’s due to inconsistency?? 90% of the time I unfollow a blog because of them simply not posting anymore and they’ve fallen off of the face of the earth.

do I gain something from your blog?

If your posts don’t necessarily make me interested or give me a reason to read it, then I won’t really feel like following?? By this I mean: is your post fun? Are there tips? Is there useful advice? informative? Is it a nice post?

I like to gain from a post. Whether this is ganging form enjoying what’s there, or finding out new things in the bookish community, or do you share something that makes me think about it and get engaged? Did I enjoy reading it?

do we have similar opinions/interests?

I like to be able to relate to what you say, to connect. For example, we like similar book genres or have the same opinion on certain books. I will still get along with/interact with bloggers that have different opinions to me!! It’s good to do that!!

I will not always follow people because they have the same opinion as me. AND I think that it’s also important to follow people with different opinions since I like to know other people’s opinions because it’s good to do that and talk to people about opinions.

And I won’t only follow book blogs! I will follow lifestyle blogs, writing blogs and photography blogs, because I actually find them interesting and you can always learn something!

Please remember that I am not saying that there is any right/wrong way to blog, and I really do encourage BLOGGING FOR YOURSELF. Please do not see this as me putting standards up for your blog!! This is not me telling people what to do and not what to do when it comes to blogging, this is just my personal opinion when it comes down to following a blog. AGAIINNNN I DON’T MEAN TO SEEM OFFENSIVE / TRAMPLE ON FEELINGS sorry if I did!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Do you agree with anything on this post? What makes you want to follow a blog? What would make you want to unfollow it? Do you tend to unfollow blogs? What do you think is the most important thing when it comes to following a blog(aesthetics, the person, the voice they have, the type of blog ie: books) Do you think that it’s important to gain something from a post (laugh, learn, think)?? What do you think about consistency?? Let me know!!

Really enjoyed reading this so while you are unfollowing people on Wp I am going to follow you for speaking the truth. I also wrote a post just now about unfollowing and I will send it to everyone who made a big deal when I unfollowed them, along with yours 😂

I want to confess that I clicked on your site mainly because of the beautiful pink flowers (I’m guessing poppies?) And wanted to see if they were one-off pieces of artwork or a regular feature. If you painted them yourself I congratulate you, because I love them! However, I also thought that this post was really cool and honest, and, as a new blogger (who took an eighteen-month life crisis break from blogging after 2 and a half posts back in 2016) I completely agree with all your reasons for following a blog. I think that it is perfectly fair to follow or unfollow whomever you like for whatever reason…it’s all a matter of personal preference after all!

i’m late to this post but it’s SO TRUE?? i recently just went through my following list and saw that i was following like 200 blogs which is,, hard,, to keep up with because come on. so i just sat down for like an hour and unfollowed the blogs that hadn’t posted anything in the past 6 months and I’ve managed to cut the number down by half – which is something I’m both relieved and guilty about tbh

but then i read this post and i feel much less guilty!! because, like you said, i’m human. (unfortunately.) my opinions can change! and unfollowing a blog isn’t something to be ashamed of 🙂

Can I just save this as a template for when my blog is feeling stale. You hit on so many great things friend!! Also I love the “cake” interest! We all want a slice of that delish all the time. Are there cake blogs to follow?! Cause sign me up!

I unfollow blogs that have been inactive for long periods as well. Every once in awhile I go through my Bloglovin’ feed and see who has been missing for forever and unfollow (though I sometimes hold onto bloggers that I have some sort of personal attachment to, in case they decide to come back!). I also unfollow people whose blogs turn out to be mostly promos because I’m just not interested in reading those.

Yeah, I think it’s my main reason for unfollowing. Oh yes, I definitely hold out on unfollowing for a while if i know the blogger well, or have said that they’re going on a long hiatus.
Oh yes, promo blogs aren’t my thing either!

Okay first of all: I just found your blog and why wasn’t I following you before??!! I really love this post, I agree with most of your points! I actually unfollowed most of the blogs I was following last year because I no longer remembered what they posted and I never commented so I felt like my follow wasn’t worth anything?

I love this post! Amazingly accurate. 😉 I’ve only been reading blogs consistently for a little less than a year, and I haven’t accumulated too many yet that I’ve followed, so I haven’t felt the need to unfollow many yet. But, I completely agree with all of your reasoning!

just pinched myself like 4 times and didn’t wake up??? DUH. PLEASE. i just followed you so hard (i don’t know what that would mean. maybe i clicked “follow” aggressively? regardless i’m pretty pleased to be following you now)

You had me at Cake. Seriously, cake and books go together! We should start a cake-book tag! Lol. Seriously, great post! Every once in awhile I look at who I’m following and weed some put too. Usually for the same reasons you mentioned. If they don’t post anymore I unfollow. If their blog turned away from books to makeup, I unfollow. If there isn’t a mention of cake, (at least once i awhile!) I unfollow. However, I follow blogs all the time too! I look for new voices and potential book loving friends. I think I just found one! Take Care Lu! 😉